Carnino Poe Wuutak
General Backstory Carnino was with his family for his younger life, living in the Great Forests of Laikka in the treetops. Because of the big forest that they lived in, they always came across many different animals that he was always almost transfixed by. However, his family was always afraid of the life that was on the forest and would always lecture him about the dangers of this forest and to stay away from any animal in there. But he didn’t see the fear that his parents saw in the forest below.His family always told the stories of his family and how they’ve been cursed to have to live in this forest. They don’t understand, all they were doing was defending themselves, or that’s how they view it. They say how they accidentally came across a strange spider’s den, and they thought it was empty so they tried to spend the night there but were met with a large spider, an awakened spider that developed strange arcane powers. They viewed her as evil because of her appearance. They thought they could kill her, but she was too powerful. She isn’t evil, but she knew she had to teach them a lesson somehow. So she placed a curse on the family. This curse prevented them from ever leaving the forest again, unless “they learn”. And of course, the family tried to leave. But when faced with trying to exit the forest, it just seemed there was some invisible force field keeping them in, and no amount of running or hitting broke through it. Even digging under it was a fruitless effort. A family member apparently even went mad from being trapped, ran off into the forest and was never seen again. No one knows if he survived. Albeit, it’s a large forest. But for kenku, they tend to have the world to live in. It wasn’t for many generations, only about 2 before Carnino came along.He spent a lot of time thinking about this. Is there a way to break this curse? They didn’t really understand the whole “unless they learn” part. But he saw significance in it. Even though it was only his uncle that went mad to a point he ran off screaming, it seems his whole family was starting to adopt that feeling. So, in the dead of night, he left. He decided to trek closer to where the spiders frequented, where he was sure the spider witch lived. Not long after entering an area that had more signs of spider life, he accidentally stumbled near a giant wolf spider’s web. Immediately he was met with the wolf spider himself. He wasn’t scared. Actually, he was fascinated but knew he had to respect his territory, so he backed away, wonder in his eyes. He kept coming back after that. Watching from afar, studying the way the spider acts, what it eats. Sometimes not seeing it as it is probably away on a hunt. Sitting closer and closer, studying it more. Trying to gain its trust.Weeks later, after trial and error, and almost getting caught in the web himself, he was able to sit near the web. One day, the spider came up to him with a large dead rat and dropped it in front of him, all 8 eyes expectantly on him. He picked it up, and the spider closed its eyes and got closer. Carnino reached his hand out and touched his head. It was this moment that he felt something strange. Like, like something disconnection. Being severed. A weight lifted off his shoulders. Somehow, he knew he figured out how to break the curse. However, he felt a more tender bond form between him and the spider. Not of malevolence, but of friendship. Love. So there he stayed in the forest, meditating the land with the wolf spider at his side, an unbreakable connection between them. One day, he had a strange revelation. Something... Dangerous. A threat to the wildlife. The part of the Great Forest controlled by the undead scourge of vampires. The Darkwoods. The Mad King rules over this portion of the forest and is threatening the Great Forest because of the threat of expansion. What could he do? Was there anything he could do? He was just one kenku and a spider. But he can’t lose hope… Then, one day he got a message, in the form of a bird. A raven, more specifically. Animal Messenger was cast on it, and the offer was to join a certain guild. It has a scroll of a bunch of paperwork, but that’s not the point. They apparently have kept an eye on him, and they saw potential in Carnino and knew he couldn’t fight the threats alone. With his spider at his side, he trekked onto where he was told to go, and for the first time in his life, left the forest that he pledged to protect. The Giant Spider. Her history would lie in an experiment from one of the Mad King’s subordinates. They have a plan to weaponize the local wildlife for their own expansion, and are capturing strong beasts to bend to their will. The unarmed giant spider was captured with the rest of her kin, which were all experimented on for different effects and mutations. She was a bit differently selected than her kin, as she was awakened by one of the mages. Because of this, her sentience made her violent, these emotions welling up that made no sense to her, these people hurting her. They taught her, tried to conditioned her that she works for them. But she had a strong will, and despite everything, for some reason knew they were wrong. She could feel nature calling her back. So she bided her time, learning about the arcane so her spellcasting can be used for their purposes. One day, she saw her opening, being led back to her cage, an opening to the outside world she hadn’t see in years. With her strength and her newfound powers, she broke free and fled to the forest. She managed to get away, and found a cave to hide in, where she would live there after.A while later, that is when the Wuutak family came across her with hostility. She was still conflicted and angry because of what the vampires did, so she acted angrily to them, going as far as to curse them. Maybe it was too harsh, but she didn’t care. They were to stay in this forest until they learned.It was a surprise, however, when the trees talked about a Kenku with hidden desires. One who rebelled against the nature of his kin. One who wanted freedom. So she sent forth one who she would call a friend. When the Kenku befriended him, she knew that the lesson is starting to sink in for at least one. She lifted the curse on him.She became a sort of a mentor for him, while he wasn’t too versed in the realm of magic, she did what she could from afar. These lessons consisted mostly of her using a spell she learned while being with the vampire, sending, along with sending more creatures for the various lessons.One day, when she felt he was ready, she told him of the Mad King. Only that he was a threat to the forest and needed to be stopped. It wasn’t long after she couldn’t feel the presence of him in the forest. So now she waits for him. The Burning Phoenix Carnino joined the Burning Phoenix Guild, and for many months had adventures with many other adventurers, met many new people, survived many triumphs, and suffered great losses. The losses stood out for him, as he felt that he was to blame for those. While he had saved many people, he focused too much on his failures and still is unable to get past those. The first time such loss had happened, was when he had a bounty to save a lost child in Hinderfall, the island that holds the forest he cherished. They had followed along the trail, Carnino leading, until they came upon a strange village, after fighting a band of were creatures. After talking, investigation, and people nearly falling asleep, they managed to get an idea that this town was a feeding zone for vampires, after finding out about an event happening that night that someone gets randomly chosen to "go have dinner" with the lord and lady of that town. So they had convinced them to allow the party to meet the lord and lady, and turns out it is what they feared, two vampires, and they had gone into battle with their vampire spawn. But when they were drained and barely kept together, they tried to run from the vampires. One member had the idea to trick the vampire to take a cursed locket, and one of the members went forward with it, but then was escorted somewhere else, obviously having been charmed. Then they tried to escape, the same person who suggested the idea nearly getting caught by the vampire, but Hather had managed to break the grip of the vampire and they ran off, except one other member of the party did not understand the danger of the vampires, and stood his ground, also getting captured. From there after, they ran out, two of the surviving members able to fly, but Carnino and Hather could not, so Carnino stayed with Hather and they ran, ran, ran. Carnino nearly got cornered, but had just barely dodged the grasp of the vampire, and finally managed to escape.Both of the captured members were turned and had to be killed by the rescue party. Carnino never truly forgave himself for not doing more about the situation The second time, Carnino and other guild members had gone to a place called Damaras to assist with kidnappings by a drow company, and at some point had located their base. They infiltrated and fought through the base, barely making it through, but the base was too full of drow, and too dangerous. Soon, they were overrun, and Carnino and Hather barely escape with their lives, the rest of the party having been overwhelmed. This tragedy was the freshest in his mind, and he was unable to try and save them before rifting. The Demiplane One day, the rifts had touched the world of Phrelle. Reality shifted around him, and he disappeared from his room in the Stalwart Tavern. Hather still lays in the room without him. Carnino had gotten branched off into an alternate reality where he had gotten rifted to a demi plane without Hather. He was in despair for a time, everything having crashed down around him too many times. Then, he had gotten a message from the giant spider. "Do not stop now child, you have work to do". He couldn't take his mentor's word for naught now. He explored the demi plane.In this Demi plane there was the remnants of a dragon's lair, abandoned and reshaped into a type of laboratory, with one central mysterious mirror in the middle of the lair. There he had found a tome there that brought theories and studies in Summoning. He studied and experimented with the practices for some time, 2 years in fact, before one day, Hather was summoned out of the mirror. He had become a summoner after all that time, trading in his experience as a ranger to be back with his beloved friend. However, when the spider came out, they both got sucked into the mirror.The mirror leads to a land where it's kind of like a purgatory, or train station if you were, with mirrors to other places. The mirror to Daleos is a special mirror. It is in the center of the others and actually pulls energy from each mirror. He doesn’t know what leads where. All the mirrors looks like the same town over and over again, with no markers for difference. The only one different is the mirror in the center of it all. He can only hope on what’s on the other side is his home, and he steps through, but not into Phrelle, but into Daleos.